Ohi, an “instant commerce” platform that provides deliveries in under two hours in eight markets, has partnered with EcoCart to offer a carbon-neutral e-commerce fulfillment option to brands and their customers.
Through the partnership, merchants that use Ohi’s service can minimize the carbon footprint associated with the delivery of their e-commerce orders through the use of carbon offsets. Ohi said over 50 brands utilize its platform including Health-Ade, Athletic Brewing, Akaline Water, SolaWave and Untuckit, and that all brands on its platform will soon be enabled with the EcoCart feature, with voluntary opt-out at any time.
EcoCart’s proprietary technology calculates the carbon footprint of deliveries of consumer e-commerce orders and allows shoppers at checkout to trigger an automatic donation to an independently verified carbon-offsetting project, helping to counteract the harmful effects of the amount of carbon associated with their order delivery. EcoCart said it has more than 2,000 brands involved in its carbon offsetting program including APL, Siete Foods, and Ancient Nutrition.
Through this new partnership, consumers pay nothing extra to make their Ohi deliveries carbon-neutral, while Ohi’s merchant partners can choose to pay a small fee to EcoCart based on the estimated carbon footprint for each delivery. Ohi said it will be covering the first month of carbon offsetting for Ohi-fulfilled orders for any brand that wants to try the new service during the first quarter of 2022, to spur adoption. From the fees collected from merchants, EcoCart contributes directly to a variety of environment saving projects such as the Garcia River Forest Project in Mendocino, Calif.; the Afognak Forest Protection project on Afognak Island in Alaska, and the Cambodia Water Purification project in Khum Lonvek, Cambodia.
“Research shows that the vast majority of consumers prefer to do business with eco-friendly companies whenever possible, and we’re absolutely committed to helping our merchant partners reduce the environmental impact of their businesses,” said Ben Jones, founder and chief executive officer of Ohi. “We’re proud to launch this partnership with EcoCart to offer environmentally friendly, superfast delivery that benefits consumers, helps our brand partners grow their businesses while reducing their carbon footprint, and ultimately supports a healthier planet.”
Ohi claims its service reduces the carbon footprint of deliveries in urban areas by using bikes, e-bikes, scooters and foot couriers to provide fast delivery in such markets as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. The company pointed out that with traditional e-commerce fulfillment, orders are shipped by plane or ground over long distances, but Ohi’s network of micro-fulfillment centers, often set up in unused retail space or offices, reduces the distance orders travel to homes. Ohi also encourages the use of eco-friendly, reusable totes.
“Through this integration, Ohi is empowering its brand partners with a win-win option that’s shown to facilitate deeper customer relationships and drive business results, while helping to have a meaningful positive environmental impact by offsetting the unavoidable emissions of shipping their products,” said Peter Twomey, cofounder and chief operating officer of EcoCart. He said the partnership provides the merchants utilizing Ohi’s service “a simple and easy way to sell more sustainably.”
Ohi cited a recent survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value in association with the National Retail Federation that indicated nearly 80 percent of consumers consider sustainability important and that nearly 60 percent are willing to change their shopping habits to be more sustainable.
Ohi also cited Gartner research indicating that 73 percent of Millennials prioritize sustainability over price when shopping. The name Ohi is a play on the words “Oh hi!”, which those that receive Ohi deliveries might very well say being surprised when the package arrives within two hours.